CHINA'S auto sales powered ahead and helped January end on a buoyant note.
Sales of passenger cars and commercial vehicles in China soared 46.38 percent from a year earlier to a record high 2.03 million units last month, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said yesterday.
The China Passenger Car Association yesterday also released data showing deliveries of sedans, sport-utility vehicles, multi-purpose vehicles and minivans jumped 45.9 percent year on year to 1.71 million units in January - a sharp contrast to a steep 16.5 percent drop in the same month of last year.
Sales of SUVs, the fastest-growing segment last year, continued their gains in January, surging 91 percent to 240,700 units. Sedan deliveries gained 49 percent to 1.19 million vehicles.
Rao Da, the secretary-general of the CPCA, said the January increase was a late effect of January last year when showrooms were closed for the week-long Spring Festival holiday. It also marked China's traditional peak season for car buying before the festival, which begins tomorrow this year, he added.
The holiday distortion means that sales may decline in February. Economists and analysts typically calculate January and February figures together to explain the Chinese market.
Rao also noted a rebound in car prices in January, after a year of fierce and relentless discounting, was due to car dealers wanting to cash in on consumers' desire to buy vehicles before the holiday. He expects China's auto price cuts to be kept below 2 percent on average this year.
Japan's three largest automakers reported their first gains since September, adding to evidence a consumer backlash sparked by a territorial dispute is fading.
Among US carmakers, Ford saw deliveries in China almost doubled last month to 61,475 units. General Motors saw deliveries increase 26 percent to 310,765 units on demand for its Wuling minivans and Buick and Chevrolet brands.
Growth in China's vehicle market, the world's biggest, will probably accelerate this year and beat 20 million for the first time, according to estimates by the CAAM last month.
